ON Monday, May 8, 2023, the Nigerian political space was thrown into disarray after the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) released a statement announcing its zoning arrangement for the 4 presiding offices of the National Assembly. The South-South geo-political zone, the party said, had been chosen to produce the next Senate President; Deputy Senate President, North-West; Speaker, North-West and Deputy Speaker to South-East. It further declared released a list of candidates to fill the positions as follows: Sen. Godswill Akpabio (South-South) Sen. Barau Jibrin (North-West), Hon. Abass Tajudeen (North-West) and Hon. Benjamin Kalu (South-East). The preferred candidates have long been rejected by many lawmakers-elect who expressed willingness to go against the party in order to, among other things, preserve the independence of the legislature. They argued that the 9th Assembly had been classified as a rubber-stamp Assembly which dropped the ball when it came to holding executive to account, especially on policies and decisions that caused hardship for Nigerians such including the ASUU strike, scarcity and skyrocketing price of fuel, biting inflation that has thrown even more Nigerians into poverty, lack of accountability for government funds, worsening insecurity across the country, incompetent government officials who despite poor performance, kept their offices throughout the current administration and many more.
The incoming lawmakers must understand that if they fail to choose courageous and vibrant leaders that will be able to speak truth to power, no matter who is involved, the cycle of ineptitude will continue for the next four years and Nigerians will be the worse for it. The political actors must understand that the Nigerian people whose interests they have vowed to protect should be central to all their calculations and decisions. Of the number of aspirants who have indicated interest for the position, with Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris, Rt. Hon Aliyu Betara and Rt. Hon Yusuf Gagdi doing public declarations, only the latter has come up with an elaborate plan for how he intends to make the 10th Assembly work for the Nigerian people and this should not be taken for granted. From the list of eight aspirants vying for the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, Gagdi has shown courage to challenge the system for the common good from his utterances and actions. He has exhibited the courage needed to boldly take a stand against the executive if the need arises and above all, has a proven antecedent of standing on the side of the masses due to his romance with poverty at the early stages of his life.
In his speech while declaring for Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives on May 6, 2023 in Abuja, he emphasised the possibility of having a system that works for Nigerians and not for self-aggrandisement. He, however, noted that “more than at any other time in our history, the choices we make now, the policies we prioritise and the concerns that most animate our governing decisions will have serious long-term consequences either for good or for ill. The House of Representatives should be and will be the arena for many of those decisions. Therefore, we must have a leadership that recognises the importance of the moment and will rise to the occasion as it demands.” Speaking further, he harped on the need for stocktaking and deliberate actions to resolve the issues that have blighted the progress, prosperity and bond that made Nigerians proud of their identity. He said, “A nation’s journey is never complete. Each generation is responsible for taking up from their predecessors, correcting their mistakes and building on past gains. It also falls to each new generation to try to resolve the unsettled questions and atone for the original sins that stand in the way of progress. For us in Nigeria, the great unresolved question that continues to unsettle our republic, that stands in the way of us reaching for the stars, is this – what does it mean to be a Nigerian?
“For the tenth National Assembly, beyond considerations of appropriations and bills, motions and resolutions, our highest obligation will be to provide the arena necessary for the impassioned yet civil debates and constructive engagements required to answer this fundamental question. The answer to this question is the missing piece that has eluded us for as long as this nation has existed. This unanswered question continues to stand in the way of consensus on basic issues of nation-building, turning every disagreement into a conflict and every conflict into a war of attrition. Even as we seek to answer the fundamental question of who we are and who we hope to be. Speaking on this, he said, “We have one of the world’s largest populations of young people, and there aren’t enough jobs available to pay them a good living and give them a sense of self-worth.
Millions of our young people cannot conceive a future for themselves in the country of their birth, and they are angry. Those who can, are leaving. Others remain here, angry fodder for the fire next time.
“What we need now in Nigeria is a wholesale, coordinated and sustained effort to change how we govern ourselves, a radical reassessment of how we allocate public resources and prioritise government interventions. We need to find the courage to make the difficult choices we have for too long deferred and prepare ourselves for the disruption of transformational change. Please make no mistake; transformational change is exactly what we need now.
“The incrementalist approach that has left us dealing with issues others have long ago solved, trailing our peers in every index, and competing with those who once looked up to us will no longer suffice. However, the simple truth remains that we cannot solve the problems of our time unless we solve them together.”
He continued, “The tenth House of Representatives can be the engine room of innovation and transformative governance. It can be a legislature that reflects the best possibilities of our nationhood, a place where men and women who believe in the worthy cause of Nigeria can, with character and courage, wisdom and humility, confront our most significant national challenges. For that to happen, the House must first confront its own failings and address its dysfunctions. We must manage the legislative calendar better to give room for constructive debate and deliberate consideration of critical policy issues. It is a waste of talent and a failure of imagination not to embrace the diversity of voices, perspectives, and experiences of members of the House of Representatives.”
On adopting a more effective way of legislating for the betterment of the people, Hon. Gagdi noted that “not every challenge of governance can be fixed by establishing a new agency or instituting a new, unenforceable ban. We must be willing to embrace complexity when making decisions about complex public policy issues. Legislators must recognise the limits of our abilities and consciously engage sectoral expertise to guide legislative decision-making and elevate the quality of legislative interventions and output. “
A staunch believer in Nigeria, he maintained that all hope is not lost for a greater Nigeria as possibilities abound to steer her on to the path of prosperity again.
“I refuse to accept the cynical view that Nigeria’s best days are behind her. I reject the formulation of thought that all we can do now is superintend the managed decline of this great nation. We must not be bound to the idea that our problems are too big or that our diversity can only lead to conflict, strife, and stagnation. Our story can be that we built a nation from the sum of our parts. That out of many, we became one prosperous nation nourished by the varied cultures, histories, religions, and traditions of the diverse people who call this place home. All the possibilities exist within us to move this nation forward together.”
This is a challenge to other aspirants to take a cue from Gagdi and focus on speaking to Nigerians, afterall they are the ones who elected them to go and represent them in the legislature.
- Adamu, a political analyst, writes in from Yaba, Lagos
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